Tech Report: Online Protest Over Piracy Bills Has An Effect
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Online information website Wikipedia led the charge on Wednesday, going offline for 24 hours in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act.
KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid said the work of several websites either going offline or posting messages about SOPA and PIPA seems to have had an effect on legislators in Washington.
KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid:
"After all the protests today, three Republican senators, who had previously co-sponsored the bill, apparently have issued some statements that they're backing away," said Magid. "So it definitely is having some type of an impact."
He said that Hollywood and Silicon Valley took different approaches in their protests.
"Who has a bigger megaphone than Hollywood? Perhaps Silicon Valley, not necessarily in the money they spent but certainly in the ability to reach eyeballs and to get people to respond," Magid said. "It is so easy to get someone to click on an online petition and while they may not be as powerful as letters and phone calls, they're still powerful in the numbers I suspect are coming in today."
Magid said that this day could be remembered as one in which the online community mobilized and got something done.
You can hear Larry Magid's Tech Report Monday through Friday at 3:50pm on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.
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